Turbulence Generation via Nonlinear Lee Wave Trailing Edge Instabilities in Kuroshio-Seamount Interactions

Physical processes behind flow-topography interactions and turbulent transitions are essential for parameterization in numerical models. We examine how the Kuroshio cascades energy into turbulence upon passing over a seamount, employing a combination of shipboard measurements, tow-yo microstructure profiling, and high-resolution mooring. The seamount, spanning 5 km horizontally with two summits, interacts with the Kuroshio, whose flow speed ranges from 1 to 2 m s⁻¹, modulated by tides. The forward energy cascade process is commenced by forming a train of 2–3 nonlinear lee waves behind the summit with a wavelength of 0.5–1 km and an amplitude of 50–100 m. A train of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) billows develops immediately below the lee waves and extends downstream, leading to enhanced turbulence. The turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate is O (10⁻⁷–10⁻⁴) W kg⁻¹, varying in phase with the upstream flow speed modulated by tides. KH billows occur primarily at the lee wave's trailing edge, where the combined strong downstream shear and low-stratification recirculation trigger the shear instability, Ri < 1/4. The recirculation also creates an overturn susceptible to gravitational instability. This scenario resembles the rotor, commonly found in atmospheric mountain waves but rarely observed in the ocean. A linear stability analysis further suggests that critical levels, where the KH instability extracts energy from the mean flow, are located predominantly at the strong shear layer of the lee wave's upwelling portion, coinciding with the upper boundary of the rotor. These novel observations may provide insights into flow-topography interactions and improve physics-based turbulence parameterization.